SAD NEWS: A serious leg injury, Tyrese Haliburton was taken to the locker room while wearing a towel over his head.

In an unexpected 133-131 victory over the Boston Celtics, Tyrese Haliburton was carried to the locker room by teammates due to what appeared to be a significant hamstring injury. Jaylen Brown scored 40 points in the game.

Late in the second quarter of Tuesday’s game (all timings AEDT), Haliburton drove to the basket, but his leg gave way. He landed awkwardly on the court and performed the splits while scowling in agony.

Play stopped for several minutes as referees and Pacers teammates gathered around Haliburton, who was obviously in a nasty mood.

In heartbreaking images, the 23-year-old was then hoisted up by teammates and transported to the rooms with a towel wrapped around his head. With a left hamstring strain, Indiana quickly announced he would not be playing again. The team is anxiously awaiting the results of scans.

With a breakout season that saw him score 24.2 points and an NBA-high 12.7 assists per game, Al Haliburton has become a top-line superstar. Last month, he led the Pacers, who are currently 20-15, to the In-Season Tournament championship. He was on pace to play in his first NBA All-Star game and get selected for the second straight year.

In a game that came down to the last seconds, the Pacers managed to rally even without their star guard.

Tentative minutes at Gainbridge Fieldhouse saw TJ McConnell’s inside basket tie the score at 131-131 with less than a minute remaining.

It set up a contentious conclusion in which, with three seconds remaining and after first being ruled a foul, Buddy Hield seemed to strike Jaylen Brown in the head as he blocked the star jump attempt for the Celtics.

The call was successfully contested by Indiana, though, and Hield’s block was upheld by the referees because they believed he struck the ball first.

In addition to being denied free throws, Indiana made a big swing to regain possession of the ball.

In a difficult final seconds for the Celtics, Bennedict Mathurin then sealed the victory for Indiana with a pair of free throws after being fouled on a shot by Kristaps Porzingis.

With seven Pacers in double digits, Mathurin’s 26 points off the bench helped Indiana advance to 21-15 after they had won seven of their previous eight games. Indiana did not have Haliburton in the lineup.

Boston, on the other hand, dropped to 28-8 while Jayson Tatum was sidelined due to an ankle ailment.